Skunkworks cars of this breed and performance don't come around very often. And to have seen the record books rewritten right in front of my eyes as the Flying Frenchman fired the 875bhp Pug up Pikes was a massive privilege.

It wasn't without its surrealism, though. As once I'd interviewed the newly-crowned King of the Peak, he took off his t-shirt, packed it into the panniers of his Honda Goldwing, pointed the bike at the horizon and rode topless into the Colorado sunset. It's the most alpha thing I've ever witnessed.